Some small businesses need a way for customers to drop off payments, keys or other important items after regular business hours. Providing such a convenience could increase your business, but requires you to adopt certain security measures to provide the service safely and effectively. The ideal drop box should be made of durable materials and placed in a well-lit, accessible location. Additionally, the box must be attached to a wall or main door firmly and securely. If your budget permits, for extra security, mount a camera that captures customer and employee access to the drop box.

1. Assess the purpose for your night drop box. Checks, receipts or vehicle keys, for example, should be deposited into a secure, theft-proof receptacle that can only be opened by employees from inside the business. DVDs, books and other media require a drop box with an opening wide enough to allow patrons to return the items, but deep enough to prevent them from reaching inside and removing items.

2. Pick a location for the drop box. A box located indoors must be secure, but not necessarily weatherproof. Generally speaking, such drop boxes are accessed by people on foot and should be mounted at average waist or chest height. An outdoor deposit box, for payments and other paper items, must be protected from theft and from extended exposure to the elements. Outdoor boxes typically are made of rust-proof metal or heavy, coated plastic to withstand varying weather conditions. Installing either type of drop box requires special drill bits, screws or pins.

3. Measure the location where the box will be installed to determine what size and type of box to purchase. A basic, wall-mounted wooden receptacle may be simple to install, but may not provide adequate security. You can purchase a light-weight, door-mounted, pass-through slot to an inside box that you can install yourself, though you may require a handyman to cut through the door and fit the pass-through slot in securely, depending on your carpentry skill level. Employ a professional installation service for heavy deposit boxes, such as those used by banks. You should also solicit the advice of a construction expert, since installing such deposit boxes might involve cutting directly through a load-bearing wall.

4. Purchase your desired lock box style at a hardware or home improvement store. If you plan to install the box on metal or concrete, rather than wood, purchase the appropriate specialty hardware. Purchase heavy and high-security drop boxes designed for currency from specialty deposit box retailers, some of which can be found online.

Tip

Purchase a business insurance policy that covers items left by customers in the night deposit box.

About the Author

As a national security analyst for the U.S. government, Molly Thompson wrote extensively for classified USG publications. Thompson established and runs a strategic analysis company, is a professional genealogist and participates in numerous community organizations.Thompson holds degrees from Wellesley and Georgetown in psychology, political science and international relations.